Richmond, VA–On Monday, Richmond City Council unanimously approved the city’s first-ever Public Art Master Plan, a 145-page document expanding avenues to fund public or publicly displayed art and providing a clear vision for art in Richmond over the next decade.

“I am grateful to City Council for approving this important Public Art Master Plan,” said Mayor Levar M. Stoney. “This plan will provide more ways to further enrich Richmond with art and to expand options for funding public art in our city.”

Public Art Commission chairwoman Sarah Cunningham said the final approval is a positive step forward for the city. “Public art is one of the most tangible ways the story of a city is told. Long after everyone has forgotten technical legislative battles, public art provides a lasting legacy for the greatness of what happened here or what can and will happen in this great city. We are grateful to everyone who participated in making this happen.”

The Public Art Master Plan defines goals and priorities for Richmond’s public art program, expands the definition of public art to include a much wider array of media and projects (both permanent and temporary), identifies new strategic partnerships and expanded opportunities for artists and enables the PAC to pursue additional outside funding in further efforts to reach all parts of the city.

“This thorough, deliberate and comprehensive plan supports and features art as an essential ingredient of our thriving city, and at a perfect time during Richmond’s national emergence as a creative capital in the United States,” said Mark Olinger, Richmond’s Director of Planning and Development Review under which the Public Art Commission operates.

Development of Richmond’s Public Art Master Plan began three years ago when the city selected the nationally known consulting team of Gail Goldman and Gretchen Freeman to work with the commission to create a custom-tailored plan for the city.

The team gathered input through numerous stakeholder and public meetings, public surveys and proactive engagement with city staff and PAC members to assemble the plan, which was approved previously by the PAC and then by the Planning Commission this past June.